The Red Eye
by xXUsEdXx
Summary: When Natsu and Lucy find an unconscious girl and bring her to the guild, strange events begin to unfold-hurling the Fairies into their most complex mission yet.
1. The Silent

_So, I'm trying my hand at Fairy Tail again. I got inspired by a little knickknack in my room to write something like this and my mind-my ever so helpful little pain in the arse-was kicking into "Write this shit right now" drive. So I present to you_ The Red Eye

* * *

 _The smoke was billowing toward the heavens. The stench of burning flesh permeated the air and screams pierced to the heavens._

 _It was the most horrific thing she's ever seen._

 _The swish of a cloak was heard and her hand was in the tight grip of her brother as he pulled her through the halls of their palace. "Brother, what's going on?" she gasped, feeling the smoke seep into her throat and her body was wracked with coughs. The grip on her hand tightened as they made it outside._

" _Listen to me, Anika!" Her brother's voice shook with urgency and had the faintest trace of fear as he withdrew a small pouch from the folds of his cloak. "They've no doubt unleashed it—that damnable creature our family kept guarded for centuries." He pressed the pouch into her small palm, closing her fingers over it. "They must not get their hands on this, lest they gain control of the creature."_

 _Confusion ate away at her mind as her grip tightened on the small pouch. "Brother, what's happening?" she asked, hysteria tingeing her tone. Another swish reached her ears as the heavy material fell upon her shoulders._

" _The task of Keeper now falls to you, sister," he whispered._

 _In that instant, the ground began to quake as a piercing cry shattered the air. A strong wind picked up as rubble crashed to the earth. She felt a pressure on her shoulder and the ground met her back. Another wave of debris burst into the air and crashed to the earth—a brutal crack reached her ears as her brother fell to the ground, blood pooling from the fracture of his skull._

" _Brother-" she gasped before looking up to the crumbling remains of her family home._

 _A large shadow, obscured by flames and smoke, unleashed a shriek that pierced her ears._

 _She let out a cry of pain, feeling a cold, thick liquid seeping from her ears before—_

 _Nothing. She could hear nothing…_

"This job was way too easy." Natsu grinned, hands against his hips. Happy hovered beside the rosette Dragon Slayer. Lucy sighed at the male's antics, though she was far used to it. "You overdid it and nearly destroyed the town," she murmured before laughing softly. The duo were returning back to Fairy Tail by cutting through the forest. Lucy considered it had been a while she since and Natsu went on a job without the others, but Erza had gone on a solo mission, whereas Wendy and Gray opted to stay at the guild.

"I want some fish," Happy moaned before perking up. "Hey, what's that?"

"What's what, stupid cat?" Lucy asked, looking at the blue Exceed curiously. Happy pointed with his paw. "Over there!" he chirped.

Against the trunk of a tree, a hooded figure sat, unmoving. "Who is that?" Natsu wondered aloud before jogging over to the figure, Lucy and Happy behind him. Lucy knelt down. "Uh, hello?" she asked softly, reaching a hand out to touch the figure's shoulder, surprised that the cloth—a deep, blood red—was soft to the touch. The figure didn't stir at Lucy's touch, made no sign of heeding the blonde's words. Lucy moved her hand toward the opening hiding the figure's face to check to see if they were breathing. A light gust of breath, slow and uneven, caressed the back of her hand before she looked up to give Natsu a panicked look. "Natsu, I think this person needs help!" she exclaimed.

His expression serious, Natsu swept the figure up in his arms and the hood had fallen back. A wavy tumble of deep crimson hair—the same, blood color as her cloak-had fallen over his right arm. Her left eye was closed, yet her right eye was swathed with bandages stained with red. The extremely pallor skin of her cheeks were tinted with fever flush. Dried blood coated her ears. "Should we take her to the hospital when we reach Magnolia, Natsu?" asked Happy, flying on Natsu's left side.

"Let's get her to Wendy," Natsu said. "Maybe she has a spell that could help this person."

"We should hurry, she could be getting worse," Lucy told the Dragon Slayer. Exchanging nods, they took off running.

* * *

The doors of Fairy Tail burst open, jolting the members to attention at who had come through the door.

"Is Wendy here?" Natsu called, holding the unconscious female as gently as he could. The fever flush on her cheeks seemed to have gotten worse during his and Lucy's trek back to Magnolia.

"I'm here!" The Sky Dragon Slayer hurried to the front, blue hair flying behind her in her rush as Carla flew behind her. "What's wrong, Natsu?" she asked.

Lucy looked toward the girl Natsu held. "We found her on the way back. She's been unconscious the entire time, I think she's sick!" she answered Wendy, worry tingeing her voice. Wendy nodded and a table was quickly vacated so that Natsu could set the blood-haired girl upon the tabletop. Her hair fanned out like a halo, as her breaths became ragged. Her hand rested over her chest, clutching at something that hung loosely around her neck in her state of unconsciousness.

"Who is she?" asked Wendy softly, looking between Natsu and Lucy.

"Dunno," answered Natsu, looking at the girl with a frown. "But she reeks of fire and blood. Something might have happened to her before we found her."

"Why is her eye covered like that?" Gray had come over, accompanied by Erza and Juvia (who was silently seething that an unconscious girl was getting her beloved Gray's attention).

"Maybe another injury? Where's the master?" Lucy looked to Erza as Wendy began to heal the scorch marks that riddled the girl's body.

"Master is at the council at the moment," answered Erza.

"Think you can try cooling that fever of hers, Ice Princess?" Natsu asked Gray, crossing his arms over his chest. Gray glared at the Dragon Slayer. "Is that your way of saying you need my help?" he replied sarcastically before approaching the table. He raised a hand, coating it in a thin layer of ice, before pressing it to the girl's forehead.

A soft sound escaped the girl's lips at the contact, her eye fluttering slightly before opening slowly. A dulled, dazed onyx iris surveyed the guildhall, to each face, before slowly pushing herself upright. Her hand tightened at the item around her neck. Her expression was equally dazed.

"You're awake," Erza told her, reaching a hand to touch the girl's shoulder. She jolted at the contact, her eye widening. It was though she was aware of her surroundings and terror seemed to radiate from her body as she trembled slightly.

"Hey, hey! We won't hurt you!" Natsu exclaimed, a sudden burst of frustration at the girl's lack of attitude.

"Hold on a second," Gray told the Dragon Slayer. The Ice Mage had noticed the blood caking the girl's ears—and that it seemed to have come from her ear canal—before moving into the girl's line of sight. The onyx eye that wasn't swaddled by bandages stared back at him before he spoke. "What's your name?"

When she didn't respond, Gray ventured in another try. "Can you hear anything?" he asked. The girl stared at him before frowning and shaking her head slowly. The surprise that went through them all, though unwarranted, was enough to convey the shock.

"That poor girl..." Lucy whispered, her hand rising to rest on her chest. "...She's deaf."


	2. The Girl

When everyone backed away enough for the girl to climb off of the table, questions began to buzz around the guildhall. In an unfortunate way, the girl was lucky to not be able to hear them—in Lucy's opinion anyway. The girl's onyx eye flickered from face to face again, her free hand going to her tightly clenched one as her messy crimson hair fell over her shoulders. Erza, sensing the girl's unease, immediately took the reigns of the situations. "All right, everyone. She's frightened enough, no need to add to her anxiety!" she ordered firmly, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she narrowed her eyes to the guild members.

"This is going to be a problem, Erza," Natsu told the Titania, his arms folded against his chest. "We don't even know where she came from and what her name is. What are we supposed to call her?"

"Maybe she can write it down?" Lucy asked softly before her brown eyes flickered to the girl. Her expression was turned into a frown as she eyed the Fairies. Lucy wondered if the girl was angry, but then she noticed the attentive glint in her eye. "Are you trying to read our lips?" she asked the girl softly. The expression softened on the girl's face before she nodded slowly.

"We need some way to help you communicate," Erza muttered as though to herself.

"Maybe this can help?" Levy walked to the group, a book and a pen in her hands. "She can write down answers or questions she may have."

"That's actually not a bad idea," muttered Gray thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his head. The girl looked toward him before her complexion utterly paled, which caused the mage to frown. "What?" he asked.

"Gray, seriously?!" Lucy yelped, moving to cover the girl's eye. Gray glanced down to find himself only in his boxers and a deep flush appeared on his cheeks as he let out a particularly loud "Damn!". Natsu laughed raucously, doubled over from the intensity. "You scarred her for life, streaker!" he managed to wheeze out. Erza let out a sigh. "So much for a first impression," she murmured as Gray scoured the floor for his clothes to pull them back on. Lucy dropped her hand from the girl's eye so she could accept the items in Levy's hand. The girl looked at the book and pen in one hand, tilting her head in wonder.

"Maybe it'll help if you let go of the other thing in your hand," Lucy suggested, approaching her to gently pry whatever the redhead held so tightly in her grasp. A dark expression appeared on the girl's face as the book and pen fell from her grip and clattered to the floor. She moved away from Lucy, clutching the unknown item possessively as her eye was narrowed in a glare.

"What's the problem?" Natsu demanded, moving to grab the girl by her wrist. "We can hold onto it for you!" He tugged at the girl's wrist and she suddenly began to struggle, trying to shake off Natsu's grip.

"N-Natsu, maybe you should let her go," Wendy stammered worriedly, raising her hands up in a sort of form of surrender. Natsu rolled his eyes. "She just needs to loosen up, we're not going to hurt her!" he replied, tugging harder on the girl's wrist.

"Let go!" A siren of a scream blasted from the girl's throat as a burst of power nearly threw Natsu back into a pillow holding the guild upright. Natsu let out a grunt of pain, shaking the hand that once had the girl's wrist in his grasp, the skin bright red as though he received a thorough burn—which was unusual for the Dragon Slayer to even have. The girl panted heavily, her hand tightly pressed against her chest, her onyx eye fixed on Natsu with a glow of upmost distrust, whereas more red seemed to seep through the bandages concealing her right eye. "Natsu!" Happy flew to the Dragon Slayer to check the extent of his injuries. Murmurs buzzed the air of shock and wonder, something she would have paid heed to if physically able.

"What's going on here?" Makarov's voice broke through the din as the master of Fairy Tail entered the guild's doors.

"Master." Erza immediately approached the old man. "Natsu and Lucy have returned from their mission and found a young girl. Unfortunately, she is unable to hear us and we aren't sure where it is she has come from."

Makarov's eyes slid over to the girl, who continued to glare at Natsu, before his eyes widened at the sight of her cloak. "She is…" he began before addressing Erza firmly. "Get her into my office. Natsu, Lucy; you both come as well," he ordered.

Erza nodded briskly before going to the girl, scooping the pen and book into her arms before gently urging her to follow. Makarov immediately went after them, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy in tow, as they went to Makarov's office. As soon as they were away from prying eyes, Makarov watched as the girl sat on a chair stiffly, her eye still narrowed in distrust. Lucy wondered why her demeanor suddenly changed—and the sudden scream that escaped her lips—whereas Natsu wondered where that unusual power came from.

Makarov's lips pressed in a thin line as he addressed the Fairies. "I recognized the cloak. It belonged to a family who resided in a small country a long way from Fiore."

"She has a family? We should tell them we found their family member, they must be worried sick!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"It is not that simple. It's why I was summoned to the Magic Council with the other guild masters. The family—whom we aren't even sure this girl belongs to—have been wiped out," replied Makarov, his tone grave. "We aren't sure of what caused the family to be exterminated this way or if it was caused by magic."

A loud _thud_ broke the tension as the girl set the book down upon the desk, flipped it open to the first page, and began to scribble something hastily. As soon as she set the pen down, she raised the book to show the four in the room. Written in an inelegant scrawl were the words: _"Just so you know, I can read your lips. My name is Anika. I'm a part of the Rune family—and my family was attacked."_

Silence hung in the air as they took into account that she had given her name: Anika Rune. Makarov sighed. "So then, you are part of the Rune family, Anika? Do you know what attacked your family?" he asked.

Anika shook her head. Her eye became half-mast as the tightly clenched hand she so kept against her chest moved to set something on the desk. When she removed her hand, a small, red pouch sat there and Anika began to scribble something else. She raised the notebook again to show her response: _"I don't know what attacked my family. All I know was that the event caused my loss of hearing. My brother gave me this pouch and cloak and said I was the Keeper now."_

"Keeper of what?" Natsu asked. Anika's lips pressed into a thin line and slammed the book shut, a definite sign of her _not_ answering Natsu's question.

"…Your bandages need to be changed, Anika," Makarov told her before looking to Erza. "Would you assist her with that, Erza?"

"Yes, of course." Erza left the room for a brief moment and returned no more than three minutes later, bandages at hand. She moved in front of Anika so the girl could see Erza wasn't a threat. Erza reached for the top of the bandage, her armored fingers hooked into them and gently began to peel them off. Anika didn't stir, her onyx eye unblinking, as Erza gently pulled the bandage off to reveal her closed right eyes, thin streams of blood dripping from them.

Lucy grimaced as Natsu flinched at the scent of blood. "Yikes, that must be painful…" he muttered, feeling goose bumps rise on his skin. Happy shivered also. "A-Aye," he chirped shakily. Anika's right eye fluttered, as if she were trying to work the muscle to open it in spite of how still she was. When the lid finally began to rise, Erza recoiled with shock that she was surprised at how she was so quickly she was unnerved by the right eye that was beneath the bandages—and almost wished she hadn't agreed to pry them off.

Anika's right eye wasn't symmetrical to her left—it wasn't even close.

Her right eye had no sign of an iris; in fact, the entire eye was silver, as if it were a fake eye. However, Erza could sense that the right eye was completely, utterly genuine. Anika's expression was stoic, her gaze steady, her aura suddenly changed. The thin trails of blood left crimson streaks on her right cheek and she was utterly unbothered by the fact. As it to prove the fact, Anika raised a hand, pressing her index finger against the streams of blood and wiped to the right, smudging the blood on her cheek, her lips a pale, grim line. In her eyes was a challenge, for someone to say something as she was getting the handle of reading lips. However, no one else in the room said anything and only after Anika relaxed just a bit did Erza begin to stick gauze over Anika's right eye. As soon as Erza finished, Makarov spoke. "No one, save us, is to know of Anika's right eye. I imagine it will cause her some degree of discomfort. No one is to say anything of it, unless Anika is all right with it. Until we figure out what precisely to do, Anika will remain with us until further notice."

Makarov looked to the girl, who had paid the fiercest attention to his lips to understand the conditions. She nodded before reaching for the red pouch. Lucy stepped forward to stand beside Anika. "What's in there?" she asked, watching as Anika's thin fingers pried the pouch open, slipped her fingers inside, and gently pulled out a fine chain. Hanging off the end, glinting in the light, was a pitch-black gem, clutched in silver, clawed foot.

"What is that?" Natsu asked, his dark eyes wide as he took in the strange necklace. Anika's expression hardened slightly as she gazed at the jewel, shrugging her shoulders to signify that she hadn't the slightest idea.

Sensing that even if Anika knew something and wasn't going to tell them—written or with body language—Makarov looked to Lucy. "Lucy, would it be too much trouble for you to take young Anika and get her some suitable clothing?" he asked.

"O-Okay," Lucy stammered, tensing a bit. Anika, able to hear or not, seemed intimidating to the blonde; however Lucy wasn't going to defy Makarov right then and there just because Anika made her nervous.

"All right. You all are free to go." Makarov waved a hand dismissively and Natsu, Erza, Happy, Lucy, and Anika left the office. Anika gazed down at the jewel in her hand, pressing it against her free palm as a soft breath escaped her. Lucy watched as she undid the clasp of the strange necklace and set it around her neck. When the clasp was set and the jewel rested against her sternum, Anika dropped her hands, her red hair cascading around her face.

"Come on," Lucy smiled at Anika in her attempt to be friendly. "Let's get you some clothes that'll be comfortable. I might have some at my place."

Anika looked at her curiously, before nodding. The blonde Celestial mage wasn't sure if Anika even understood what Lucy had just said, but at the moment, Lucy just wanted to be of some help.

* * *

"Why don't you take a bath?" Lucy gestured to her bathroom once she had lead Anika to her apartment. With Anika's right cheek smeared with blood, her matted, tangled mane of deep red hair and fragile condition, she wasn't going to be endeared anytime soon. Anika nodded, slowly trudging to Lucy's bathroom. Lucy drew the curtain shut to give Anika privacy before reclining on the chair in her living room. She took a deep breath before heading to her closet to see what would suit Anika.

A loud burst of her door opening elicited a shrill scream from Lucy as she dropped a soft, white shirt on the floor. Natsu, accompanied by Happy, Erza, and Gray walked in. "Is she here, Lucy?" asked Erza, who was holding the book and pen Levy had provided for communication. Lucy nodded. "She's in the bath right now. I figured she could get cleaned up, since we don't know how long she's been on her own," she answered.

"What did master talk to you guys about?" Gray asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Quit stripping in my apartment, please," Lucy muttered, glaring at the ice mage who made a noise of disbelief at finding himself unclothed.

"Master won't let us talk about it, not without Anika's permission," said Natsu, occupying the other chair in Lucy's living room. "Aye," chimed Happy.

Erza placed the book and pen on Lucy's desk. "Anika's to remain at Fairy Tail, master's orders."

A loud creak sounded out from the bathroom and after a moment of silence, the curtain drew back to unveil Anika, her hand holding fast on the knot of a fluffy, pink towel around her body. Water dripped from her soaked hair, the majority of it covering her right eye—Lucy guessed she removed the gauze so that it wasn't soaked from the bath—as she looked around. Lucy and Erza weren't sure whether Anika was wary about being only clad in a towel in front of males, but Erza was obviously taking no chances. She glared at Natsu and Gray and Happy. "You three, wait outside until we get Anika properly dressed," she ordered. "Now out."

Stiffening from the death glare Erza threw at them, the three slunk outside of Lucy's apartment. Once the door snapped shut, Lucy picked up the white shirt from the floor while Erza retrieved another towel from the bathroom before using it to dry off Anika's hair. When Erza swept up the river of red over her right eye, Anika kept it closed. Her body was rigid, as if she wasn't used to the contact of other females helping her. When Lucy handed the girl the shirt, she pulled it on over the towel, tugging the towel down once the shirt covered her torso. Lucy then went to her drawer to find a pair of panties, and then went to her closet to fetch a pair of shorts that she handed to Anika. The redhead tugged the undergarment on and dropped the towel before putting on the shorts. Lucy smiled as Erza went to find some gauze to apply it to Anika's eye. Before Erza could do so, Anika gently took the gauze from Erza's grip and applied it herself.

"All right, you three can come in!" called Lucy and the door opened so that Natsu, Gray and Happy could reenter. Anika sat on Lucy's bed as Erza folded her arms over her chest and Lucy sat beside her after retrieving a brush and beginning to brush out the tangles of Anika's hair.

Natsu grinned. "She looks good! I don't know how you girls even manage that."

"Idiot," Gray muttered, shaking his head.

Happy flew onto Anika's lap and she stared at him for a moment before patting his head. "Kitty," she mumbled, her voice a flat timbre. Unable to even hear herself, she couldn't even get a unique tone of voice that distinguished her.

"Since she's a part of our guild now, we should make sure that we treat Anika well," Erza said carefully. "We don't know why she was on her own and she isn't going to communicate with us if she doesn't trust us."

"Why can't she trust _us_?" asked Gray in an offended tone. "It's not like we're a Dark guild, going to hurt her on sight or anything."

Anika had grabbed Happy's paws to play with the Exceed instead of paying attention to reading their lips, her eye wide and childlike. Happy laughed as Anika lifted his paws up and down, left and right, as though trying to have Happy do a little jig. The odd necklace that she unveiled in front of Natsu, Happy, Erza, Lucy and Makarov glinted in the artificial light of Lucy's apartment—the one thing that was in her possession that she refused to let anyone touch. Lucy began to braid Anika's hair with a heavy sigh. "I kind of feel bad for her, you know? She's lost and alone. Unlike most of us, she's in some strange guild and doesn't know how to react."

"Does she have a family somewhere?" asked Gray.

"Aye, but master doesn't want us to be spreading rumors about her without her permission," Happy told him over his shoulder. Anika released Happy's hand and touched the jewel that lay against her sternum. Her expression changed from the hardened one she wore when Natsu attempted to grab the pouch from her and in Makarov's office during certain topics; instead, it was saddened, a look in her eye that the Fairies had seen before—they had worn it at some point in their lives: grief.

"Where should we put her? In the dormitory?" asked Natsu, crossing his arms with his face rumpled with concentration.

"Think any harder and your brain's going to turn into charcoal." Gray rolled her eyes. "Unless Lucy takes her, the dorms are where she has to go. Master says she has to stay in Fairy Tail, idiot."

"Who're calling an idiot, pervy popsicle?" Natsu glared.

Anika kicked her feet a bit, her interlaced fingers against Happy's stomach, her gaze on the sniping twosome. Erza narrowed her eyes, displeased. "Natsu, Gray, do not do anything to give Fairy Tail a bad name in front of our guest," she ordered firmly. Natsu and Gray stiffened at Erza's waves of displeasure, their arms around one another's shoulders awkwardly. When Lucy finished braiding Anika's hair and looked to see the reaction of Erza bossing Natsu and Gray around, she was surprised to find a faint, amused smile on her face. Happy looked up at Anika and raised a paw amicably. "They're real goofballs," he chirruped. Reading the Exceed's lips, Anika nodded.

"I think we should show Anika around," Lucy suggested with a light shrug. "Have her be familiar with the guild and everything."

"That's a great idea. Let's do so now while we still have some daylight," replied Erza approvingly.

* * *

The tour was going well.

At least, the Fairies thought so.

They were showing Anika everything in Magnolia, leaving the guildhall last so that she wasn't overwhelmed by the antics so soon. The redhead looked around, curious, childlike, holding Happy in her arms. If Natsu hadn't known any better, his little Exceed buddy was enjoying being carried by the girl—and the Dragon Slayer didn't mind it much.

Anika's eye widened slightly and she ran up to a vendor. There were rows of different fruits on display and her eye seemed to glow with an even more pronounced childlike glow. Lucy laughed a bit. "She looks really excited about the fruits, huh?" she asked her comrades.

"She seems to be enjoying herself, yes," agreed Erza with a nod.

"Shouldn't we take her to the guild about now?" asked Gray, a hand on his hip, eyebrow quirked.

"What for? She's having fun!" Natsu exclaimed.

Happy was flying now and Anika was following the blue Exceed with her eye, spinning in a circle to look at Happy before he landed on her head. She looked as if she was indeed having fun. Happy grabbed Anika's hand to tug her back to the group. "Should we head back to the guild and let her meet everyone?" he chirped.

"That's what I said." Gray rolled his eyes.

"Now, now," Erza chided, half-heartedly.

Anika looked between the two, her expression of faint confusion on her visage. Lucy smiled and grabbed Anika's hand. "Let's take you to meet everyone in Fairy Tail!"

It was in the blink of an eye. Anika took her hand back from Lucy's grip, her confused expression fading into a stoic look. The childlike gleam in her onyx eye had promptly disappeared, an iced hazed replacing it. It radiated distrust—not to the Fairies before her, yet when Lucy mentioned every one else in the guild…

"Hey, you okay?" Natsu asked, peering closely at Anika's expression, confusing on his face.

When Anika didn't make any form of response, her eye not even flickering to read Natsu's lips to understand what was being said, Gray reached forward to flick her forehead. She recoiled, her eye widening before she glared at him with so much disdain, it was like she threw a punch. She closed her eye, reached up to lift Happy off of her head, and handed him to Natsu before turning around.

The Fairies exchanged glances with one another. The sudden change in behavior was disconcerting and it made them wonder what even happened to her, what had she seen for such a torrent of distrust to burn in her gaze. She couldn't tell even tell them why and with how things are going, she never would. Anika hadn't moved, barely even twitched, for the merest second before she turned back to look at them. Her onyx eye looked unfocused, smoky, the roses in her cheeks were gone. The evidence of the childishness they had witness moments earlier within her seemed to have been erased, as if she had just become stone right before their very eyes.

Lucy wasn't sure what the others felt—but if she believed they were in tune with one another, understood one another so explicitly, then the chill that raced down her spine from Anika's stone gaze did not only affect her.

In a second, Anika turned on her heel, glided fluidly between them, her hair a bloody wave that trailed behind her.


	3. The Thought

_Sorry for all the delays. Life and things have interfered, plus writer's block. This chapter's a bit short, and once I have the creative flow going, maybe more stuff will flow._

* * *

Her feet barely made a sound against the pavement. The moment she turned her back, a knot of distrust twisted her stomach. In spite of not being able hear, she knew that as a member of the Rune family, she was hammered into distrusting the world outside of her home. Her brother had often told her that those of the outside world would want to harness something within the walls of the palace. Anika frowned.

Why couldn't she remember what that something was? Why had her beloved brother thrust a task she knew nothing of upon her? What did this necklace tied around her neck signify and why did she have to protect it?

 _Calen…what do I do?_ Her question remained unanswered. How she wished her brother could reply…

Anika stopped, aware that her feet reached the edge to Magnolia. She saw the trees of the forest—possibly the very forest she had rushed into after what had happened, the smell of smoke and the stain of fear etched forever onto her skin. She flinched, automatically grasping the black gem in her frail hand. Even though no sounds vibrated within her ear canal of the townspeople or those really strange wizards whom seemed to insist on taking care of her, she could hear the screams of her family and friends, sharp and piercing, a symphony of pain, of agony. A lump caught in her throat and Anika found herself unable to swallow as flashes of that night burned through her vision. The palace burning…the smell of scorching flesh…the splitting ground…

The demonic screech as the creature hidden in shadow emerged…

Anika felt a scraping in her throat, knew it was a cry she made, but she couldn't hear her sound of dismay. She didn't want the memories of death; she wanted to go back to the days before. She jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around so sharply, she almost made herself dizzy.

It was those guild wizards. The blonde one that let her wear her clothes was looking at her, her brown eyes glowing with concern. Her lips were moving too fast for Anika to read. The rosette-haired wizard—the aggressive one—leaned forward, brows furrowed, his mouth moving faster than the blonde. Anika wasn't particularly _trusting_ of any of them—not the aggressive wizard, not the blonde wizard, not the wizard that kept losing his clothes, nor the redhead.

They meant well, though. She could at least sense that much, despite her current inability to hear their voices. At that notion, a hollow ache began to form within her, dead set in her chest. Even with her eyes set on the somewhat quarreling wizards, she wasn't truly seeing them. The edges of her vision darkened, yet the focus wasn't entirely there. Her mind was foggy with thought, the dizziness returning with a crushing wave of nausea. _Why? Why am I Keeper? And of what?_

Bile rose in her throat, clawing up and up, as she swayed on the spot. Her vision went black for the quickest of seconds, body careening forward, before she was aware of a strong arm around her abdomen and keeping her from hitting the concrete. The rosette-haired wizard was in her periphery, looking down at her with a soft frown on his face. Anika felt warmth radiating from his arm, strange warmth, before she managed to regain her bearings and stood straight. She bowed her head to him in gratitude for preventing her from crashing to the ground.

A touch, cold, came from the redhead against Anika's forehead and she blinked in curiosity at the others, who were wearing similar expressions. Why on earth would these people be concerned for her? They were speaking and Anika wished she could hear their words without resorting to reading their lips. A softness against her shin made her look down, to stare at the blue cat, its large eyes looking back at her. She wanted to smile. The cat made her feel at ease, as strange as it sounded. She reached down to pat its head, its fur very soft against her fingertips.

It eased her troubled mind for now.

Anika's attention was diverted to patting Happy, which was honestly better than her nearly cracking her head on the pavement. Lucy considered it extremely lucky that Natsu was aware enough to catch Anika before serious injury could be done.

"I wonder why she almost passed out," Natsu commented, crossing his arms with a frown on his face.

"She looked pale, didn't she?" Erza sighed heavily. "We let her out of our sight for only a moment."

"She didn't wander far," interjected Gray dismissively.

"That isn't the point, Gray," retorted Erza, glaring toward Gray. "Master entrusted Anika to our care. If she gets hurts, it falls upon our heads."

Anika grabbed Happy's paws, proceeding to make the Exceed dance. Lucy placed a hand on Anika's shoulder, jolting her from her brief entertainment. The crimson-haired girl looked at Lucy, straight in the eyes, and Lucy fought to suppress a shudder. She knew that gauze concealed the silver eye from the world and from those who did not know about it. However, it didn't make the fact that Anika's eyes were so unusual any less strange. For a moment, she had completely forgotten why she had diverted Anika's attention from her simpleminded entertainment. Then she remembered that Anika had nearly blacked out after walking away from them.

Sighing heavily, Lucy turned to her friends. "I don't think we should let Anika out of our sight. I mean, just look at right now."

"We can't just restrict her, Lucy. That won't make her like us any more than she does now," said Gray blithely, shrugging his shoulders. In truth, he didn't really understand the point in keeping the girl in the guild. He wouldn't just dismiss a girl who needed help, but the girl—despite being unable to hear—seemed to be capable of handling herself.

"Maybe she just needs a some good fight in her." Natsu grinned.

"Natsu, you are not to even think about it," Erza commanded sternly. "Anika doesn't need that."

"Uh, guys," Lucy began shakily, grabbing the other three's attention. Anika was looking at them, her onyx eye fixated on them eerily, holding Happy in her arms. She walked forward cautiously, her eye suddenly fixated on Natsu. When she was within arm's length of him, she handed Happy to Natsu. She patted Happy's head as the Exceed looked to the one-eyed redhead. "Natsu, she's nice. I like her!" chirruped Happy. Even though Anika couldn't hear anything, she must have sensed Happy's assessment was positive because she smiled. Natsu blinked curiously.

Gray planted his hand on his hip at Natsu's dumbstruck expression. "What, you're stunned that she can smile?" he asked sarcastically of the Dragon slayer. Natsu glared at the ice mage. "Shut it, you Popsicle! She can smile if she wants to!" he snapped.

"Idiots," Lucy sighed heavily. "Wouldn't know a girl can smile if it bit you on the nose."

Anika turned to look at Lucy and shrugged and the celestial mage almost wondered what she could be thinking. Of course, being around Natsu for the first time tended to be exhausting, exhilarating, or just downright insane. Apparently, reactions tended to vary.

"We should head back," Erza commanded. "After all, we should have Anika get a bearing of her surroundings, which includes the guild."

"Yes, ma'am," chorused the group and Lucy went to Anika to place a hand on her shoulder. She wondered—maybe even hoped—that Anika could learn to trust them. Even if it was just baby steps at a time.


End file.
